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A funny thing happened when wildlife and environmental officials removed an old dam on the Millstone River: the shad returned.

The fish had not been found in the river in nearly two centuries and their appearance marks another victory in the effort to restore access to closed-off shad nurseries.

The Weston Mill Dam in Manville was removed last summer and river surveys this year found five juvenile shad 4 ½ miles upstream at the base of Blackwell’s Mills Dam, which is the next upstream impediment to the movement of the shad.

No shad have been found upstream of this location, according to wildlife officials.

Commissioner Catherine R. McCabe said the discovery means the "species has an inherent tendency to recolonize once obstacles are removed from its migratory path.”

The Millstone River is a 38 mile long tributary of the Raritan River. The river begins in Monmouth County.

Weston Mill Dam on the Millstone River in Manville before it was removed.(Photo: NJDEP)

The Weston Mill Dam was about 1 ½ miles from the confluence of the Raritan River. The dam was over 5-feet high. The original dam was built in 1844 and rebuilt in the 1930s.

This dam and other like it on the river impeded the shad from traveling downstream.

According to the state Department of Environmental Protection, as early as the late 1700s, it was reported that the construction of dams and overfishing were causing the shad population in the Millstone River to decline rapidly.

The removal of the Weston Mill Dam was completed in accordance with the terms of a Natural Resource Damages settlement.

N.J. record triggerfish speared by Red Bank diver

Brian Cassidy of Red Bank made his way onto the state record fish list recently by landing a record-size gray triggerfish while spearfishing.

The state's Division of Fish and Wildlife, which keeps track of the record fish, said Cassidy was free diving off the shore of Monmouth Beach when he speared the 3-pound 13-ounce fish.

Brian Cassidy, Red Bank, holds the new state record triggerfish, spearfish category.(Photo: Courtesy of N.J. Division of Fish and Wildlife)

Freediving is a form of underwater diving where divers rely on holding their breath instead of scuba gear.

The new record gray triggerfish in the spearfishing category measured 16 ⅛ inches from the nose to the fork in the tail.

Cassidy's catch is a few pounds short of the state record gray triggerfish landed by rod and reel. That fish was caught by James Massimino at the Sea Girt Reef in 2016. The fish weighed 6-pounds, 11-ounces.

Gray triggerfish, which are common on the East Coast during the summer and early fall can reach 13 pounds, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The fish are extremely territorial and one male can defend up to three nests on a reef.

Triggerfish get their name from spines on the dorsal fins that can "triggered" as a predator defense and for anchoring. When a triggerfish is threatened it will dive into a tight crevice and anchor itself into place by lock its spine.

Gene Kolifrath from Morrisville, Pa., caught this monster tog of 16.7 pounds on the Sea Girt Reef using a green crab. The fish was weighed in at the Bait Shop in Bradley Beach. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE BAIT SHOP

Rob Dallas (left) and his dad Robert Dallas, both from Watchung, with a 230-pound bluefin tuna caught on their boat Hooked Up while fishing near the Texas Tower on Monday.
Rob Dallas (left) and his dad Robert Dallas, both from Watchung, with a 230-pound bluefin tuna caught on their boat Hooked Up while fishing near the Texas Tower on July 3, 2017. Courtesy of John Hamilton

A bonito, at top with horizontal lines, and a false albacore at the bottom with a camouflage pattern and three dots, landed on Barnegat Ridge.
A bonito, at top with horizontal lines, and a false albacore at the bottom with a camouflage pattern and three dots, landed on Barnegat Ridge.
STAFF PHOTO/DAN RADEL Dan Radel/Staff Photo

Courtesy of Jim Kochman
Caroline Kochman, age 8, from Sea Girt, and her grandfather Jim Kochman, hold a brown shark Caroline caught and released on the Sea Girt Reef on Saturday.
Caroline Kochman, age 8, from Sea Girt, and her grandfather Jim Kochman, hold a brown shark Caroline caught and released on the Sea Girt Reef on July 22, 2017. Courtesy of Jim Kochman, Courtesy of Jim Kochman

Captain William Egerter Jr. of the Dauntless party boat holds a codfish he caught on a March 11 trip.
Courtesy of the Dauntless
Captain William Egerter Jr. of the Dauntless party boat holds a codfish he caught on a March 11 trip. Courtesy of the Dauntless

Courtesy of N.J. Division of Fish and Wildlife
Juvenile herring in a survey conducted by the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife.
Juvenile herring in a survey conducted by the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife. Courtesy of N.J. Division of Fis

John Kim, Queens, New York, with a lobster he caught on the Fish Stix charter boat.
Courtesy of Captain Kris Black/Fish Stix
John Kim, Queens, New York, with a lobster he caught on the Fish Stix charter boat. Courtesy of Captain Kris Black/F, Courtesy of Captain Kris Black/F

Anglers on the 125-foot Big Jamaica party boat hold some of the mackerel they caught on Wednesday.
Anglers on the 125-foot Big Jamaica party boat hold some of the mackerel they caught on Aug. 2, 2017. Courtesy of Captain Howard Bogan, Courtesy of Captain Howard Bogan

An angler holds a mahi-mahi landed on the 125-foot Jamaica party boat.
Courtesy of the Jamaica
An angler holds a mahi-mahi landed on the 125-foot Jamaica party boat. Courtesy of the Jamaica, Courtesy of the Jamaica

This mola mola fish, commonly called an ocean sunfish, was photographed in Barnegat Bay on Tuesday.
Courtesy of Christian Palmisano
This mola mola fish, commonly called an ocean sunfish, was photographed in Barnegat Bay on Oct. 10. Courtesy of Christian Palmisano, Courtesy of Christian Palmisano

(sports) Brielle, 7/22/00- Hoffman's Marina- Nick Neuberg, Brielle, holds the head of a 4-foot silver eel that was caught on his Benchmark by Dave Ugi (right) ofr Millstone Twp. while fishing at the Mud Buoy off Sandy Hook. The eel weighed 9-pounds 2-ounces. Hank Wurzburger/special to the press

Courtesy of Dave Riback
Captain Dave Riback, left, captain of the Queen Mary party boat in Point Pleasant Beach, holds up a Spanish mackerel.
Captain Dave Riback, left, captain of the Queen Mary party boat in Point Pleasant Beach, holds up a Spanish mackerel caught on his boat Aug. 11, 2017. Courtesy of Dave Riback, Courtesy of Dave Riback

Brandon Martin, left, and Kelvin Barthelmeh of Delaware State University hold an Atlantic sturgeon that was tagged and released on Delaware Bay (photo courtesy Delaware State University Aquatic Sciences)

Angler Lou Marcucci of Mount Arlington with an 8-pound 14-ounce walleye that earned him first place and 2 in the Knee Deep Club?s Walleye Weekend Contest at Lake Hopatcong. Photo courtesy of the Knee Deep Club